


Tattooed Everything

by LibertinePast



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Danoush, M/M, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-14 16:06:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17511692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibertinePast/pseuds/LibertinePast
Summary: Things take an unexpected turn when Daniel and Anoush hang out without Louie.





	1. Black

[ ](https://ibb.co/mckq2VL)

**May 26, 2018**

Anoush was probably too drunk to be driving home, especially in his BMW he really couldn’t afford.  But when Daniel had a few in him, he’d get in a car with Toonces the Driving Cat.

After the concert got out at the Greek Theatre, they’d spent too much time at the Plaza Bar.  They were both wearing jeans and T-shirts and had spent most of the night laughing. Daniel couldn’t help regressing to junior high over all this; he had always felt like more of a boss than a friend to Anoush, and he was a little giddy that they’d gotten along so well without Louie in the picture.

“Hey, man,” Daniel said.  “Thanks for inviting me. I’m glad you didn’t think I was too old to want to see Pearl Jam.” 

“Too old? Dude, you’re only ten years older than me. I’m sure it was the soundtrack to your 90’s just as much as it was mine.” 

“Yeah. Definitely brought to mind a couple of girls I took to some oxygen bars and internet cafes.” 

“Myself as well. You’re _not_ old, bruh. Get it out of your head already.” 

“Well, it was kinda hard not to feel old when they cut the lights and started playing ‘Black,’ and you grabbed my arm like a big baby,” Daniel chuckled. 

“I wasn’t _scared_ scared, just freaking out. The opening licks of that song in total darkness, I couldn’t even. It was an experience. I was happy to be sharing it with somebody.” 

“It was pretty awesome.” 

Anoush pulled up on the stone pavers of the Escalon driveway, and Daniel couldn’t help thinking about what had happened a week prior. _Save it for the mat,_ he heard Johnny smirk in his head, remembering how they wobbled shoulder-to-shoulder into the dojo.  He thought of the stinging sensation in his eyes after Johnny had shoved him into the trophies.

Anoush sighed. “Listen…I’ve been thinking.  I really hope you and Louie can work things out, but…it was nice to have a night out without him embarrassing me, or inciting women’s marches with his pickup lines. God, I shouldn’t say that. He’s your family.” 

“Nah, nah, I totally get it.  I wouldn’t have met you if not for Louie, but hell, I like you better than _him._ ” 

“Alright then,” Anoush smiled. “We’re on the same page. And look…I’m sorry I blew off your karate proposal a few months ago. I was kind of intimidated, honestly. If your offer still stan—“

“Say no more,” Daniel beamed. “Come to the dojo. It is _on._ ” 

________________________________________________________________

“Oh, man,” Anoush said, looking around the impressive pool house dojo, “this place is right out of Bruce Lee’s _Game of Death._ Like, where’s Kareem Abdul Jabar in his little white shorts?”

“Ah, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere,” Daniel snorted.  “So, you want the long tour or the short tour?”

“Uh, what do _you_ think?”

“Well, OK, there _is_ no short tour.  Let’s just do some shots and skip to _karaté,_ ”  Daniel pronounced with flourish. “I got some Sambuca in the mini-fridge, you want some?”

“Shouldn’t you have saké in here?” 

“I figure if sushi places can sell meatball grinders, I can have Sambuca in a dojo.” 

“Let’s pound some back, then.” 

Daniel poured two shot glasses for them. “S _alute.”_

“An ironic toast in our current states. Should we really be doing karate like this?” Anoush winced after his shot.

“Well, the only thing you’re gonna be doing at first is….” Daniel trailed off.  He really didn’t know where to start without the odd jobs bit. He had never done this with someone he considered a peer, so he decided to make an exception.  “Ah, you know what. Let’s just try a few things. Shoes off, step up on the mat,” he said, kicking off his own shoes and kind of stumbling as he did so. 

“God, what am I getting myself into…?” Anoush said as he did the same.

“OK, basic kata,” Daniel said, trying to sound serious but giggling as he tried to get fixed in his stance. “ _Ichi.”_

“Yeah, itchy for another drink. Daniel, I don’t know, dude…” 

“Feet together and bow.”  

“To you? Feels too much like work.” 

“OK, wise-ass, how ‘bout to Mr. Miyagi’s picture over there.” 

Anoush put his feet together and did so.  He did it gracefully and respectfully regardless of their very informal states, and Daniel’s heart swelled a little.

“Great. Alright,” he said, standing alongside him. “So you’re gonna put your feet apart, fists level with your legs in front. Then you’re gonna turn to the right and strike with the left.” 

“And say ‘hi-yah’ while I do that?” 

“That’ll come naturally, don’t force it. Now follow me.” 

Anoush tried to follow along with Daniel’s movements, laughing.  “OK, I didn’t realize this was all choreographed like Zumba. This is me at Zumba right now.” 

“Here, let me help you,” Daniel said, coming behind him and adjusting his body.

“Gladly…” Anoush shivered.

When Daniel gently pushed Anoush’s tense shoulders down, a small, faded tattoo appeared the at the top of his back. 

 “Holy shit, what have we here?” Daniel grinned. “You have a tat in kanji?  Noush, that’s awesome. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Ugh, I hate it. It makes me feel like such a poseur.  This wasn’t one of my better decisions in the 90’s. Definitely not a Pearl Jam-caliber decision.” 

Daniel recognized that “X” with two small strokes above it.  It had been everywhere during the lantern floating ceremony in Okinawa. “That’s the symbol for Father.” 

“Well, that’s good to know. I was always afraid it actually said ‘Hello Kitty’ or something,” he smiled. “But yeah. My dad passed in ’96.  I had just turned 18, so I combined my grief with my newfound freedom and desecrated my body.” 

“…I’m sorry about your dad. Mine died when I was eight.  And c’mon, the tattoo is fine. Please, if I’d gotten one as a tribute to Pop at some point, it probably would’ve been a huge portrait of him with a cigarette hangin’ out of his mouth, across my whole back. I was impulsive like that. I’m serious.”

Anoush sounded like a hyena.  “I know you are. You’re crazy, man. You make me laugh ’til lit hurts.” 

“Same. It’s no wonder you slay with sales, but I don’t know how they stop laughin’ long enough to sign the paperwork.” 

“It’s um…cool that we have the dad stuff in common. I mean, not cool that we’re fatherless man-babies, but, you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, it’s one of those things we’d never talk about in front of Louie, huh? He’d say we were a couple o’ Debbie Downers.” 

“What would he say about us doing kata?” 

“That we look like geishas, probably.  Speakin’ of which, let’s get back to the form.”  Daniel stood behind him and adjusted his back, moving his arms to where they should be. It felt like they were about to ballroom dance, and when Anoush found himself leaning into this karate waltz, his eyes fixed on Daniel’s face, he moved away.

“Y’okay?” Daniel shrugged.

“Daniel…I -I know you’re a very hands-on guy, and…that’s kinda why I opted out of this the first time. And…probably why I also _agreed_ to it while intoxicated…” 

“What?” 

“Remember I told you about that South Asian Dating App…?” 

“Yeah, the pepper and the vindaloo and Priya and all that.”

“Yeah. And after her...Rajesh.” 

“… _Oh._ ” Daniel said when it sunk in. “’Noush, c’mon. You thought I’d feel awkward teaching you karate because of that?”

“No…it’s that _I_ would. It’s probably obvious by now that…I mean, c’mon, Daniel…look at you. You’re everything. You’re the total package.” 

Daniel’s mouth hung open a little, and the silence then was painful. “…ok, _now_ it just got a little awkward…” 

“Oh God, I’m so stupid,” Anoush berated himself behind a hand to his mouth, leaving the mat and retrieving his shoes. “You know, this is why it was better to hang out with you _and_ Louie. I _never_ would’ve said something like this with him around. He would’ve called me a fruit and said _‘Don’t think about my cugine like that, I’ll kill ya!’”_ he imitated with animated hands.

Daniel was thankful for the impression, as it alleviated things a lot. He regarded him for a moment. “…Anoush…I’m not mad.”

“Oh, no. Please don’t do it.  Please don’t say you’re ‘flattered.’” 

“No…but I _am_ drunk…”  Daniel drifted closer.  He felt terrible for getting a boost from this, but he was feening for a little boost.

“Wait, what?” 

“Probably won’t remember any of this tomorrow,” Daniel crooned, the space between them getting narrower.

Anoush swallowed hard as he looked up at the taller man. “OK, now this is turning into some sort of weird fan fiction…” 

They lingered in the closeness for a moment, just experiencing it, like music in darkness at the concert. Their lips met so gently at first, so feather-lightly, testing the waters.  Then, the plunge.  It wasn’t anywhere near as sloppy as it should’ve been at this point in their blood alcohol levels. Anoush wrapped his arms around his boss and dreamed of waking up in this beautiful Mission house every day, carpooling to work after mornings spent like this.

Daniel’s lips relished the stubble on Anoush’s face, the alcohol on his breath.  He inhaled every beautiful sensation and the first thing that ghosted from his lips was “Johnny.” 


	2. Hide Your Love Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for giving this odd pairing a go! You never know, maybe you'll be seeing them again...:)

 

[ ](https://imgbb.com/)

Anoush’s name meant “immortal," but he never felt particularly legendary until that moment in the dojo. Before _another_ legendary name rose from the dark, the kiss was waxing into something stronger than either of them expected. Just gentle enough, but the eagerness undeniable. Daniel LaRusso really didn’t know how to dial back a first kiss with anyone.

Anoush knew that nothing good was going to come of kissing his drunk boss, who was married to his other boss, in their house, but…still. That name. A record needle scratch right then would’ve been fitting, but since they were having a 90’s night, maybe a skipping CD instead.

Daniel gasped as if it could rewind everything, breaking from Anoush without opening his eyes. He’d kissed a guy for the first time, overwhelmed by the gritty skin, the sandalwood scent, and _that_ was what came out. The look in Anoush’s thick-lashed baby browns was as gutted as he expected. “..I…” was all Daniel could muster for a moment, his breathing still at makeout pace. “I-I have no curse that covers this...”

Anoush was further away than he wanted to be, even in these circumstances. His eyes were tracing the grains in the floor. “I can’t actually say this hasn’t happened to me before. The name of a guy whose shit I stepped in is new.”

Daniel thought of a curse that covered this. He smashed his face in steepled hands and turned away, with a tortured, muffled moan of a choice Japanese phrase he’d learned from Mr. Miyagi.

“So...I guess the guy in college who Sharpied a dick on my forehead while I was asleep was…flirting?” Anoush shrugged.

Daniel whipped around. “No no no, it’s not like that, it’s not what you think.” He wondered how many caught-in-the-act clichés he would spout off before this was over.

“Yeah, I can never unsee what I think. I can't unsee the guy's _outfit_ that day at the dealership. You could at least show him you care with a makeover.”

“God, no! Trust me, feelings, of any kind, are _not_ what Johnny Lawrence wants from me.”

“…oh. One-sided, then. That makes even more sense, from where I’m standing…I think I’m just gonna show myself out….”

He turned around and walked towards the shoji doors of the martial arts man cave, willing his eyes to stop stinging. Like always when he was upset, his thoughts came in his father’s language. There was an expression of devotion in Persian that translated to "you are my liver."  Anoush always thought it was kind of disgusting, until a few hours alone with Daniel felt exactly that vital. 

“Anoush, wait,” Daniel groaned, bounding after him and standing in front of him gingerly. “Take a personal day on Monday, I-I totally understand.”

“Daniel, it’s not like my walk of shame on Tuesday will be any easier.”

Daniel felt himself sobering up by the minute, as if his disgrace was a hot coffee in a cold shower.  He didn't know where to start with his latent desires, his impulses, his wife who would roll over and ask sleepy questions about the concert. The worst thing was violating the most sacred bond of all. "I'm the one who should be ashamed. I was supposed to be teaching you."

"You _were,_ until I started all this."

"And I was weak. It’s so dishonorable,” he cringed, feeling Mr. Miyagi’s glass gaze on him. “I’m supposed to lead my students down the right path.”

“Yeah, epic fail, coach. Only got to first base,” Anoush said, trying not to give him the eye all over again. Fail.

Daniel sighed. “…I swear…in that moment, I just…I wanted _this,_ ” Daniel said, gesturing back and forth between them.

“C’mon, I’m sure you’re not the first person to be dreaming about a pretty blond while Top Gun kissing a short Iranian guy. “

“Can you just be serious for one mi…wait, it was a…Top Gun kiss? Like…with the blue background and the silhouettes and the turnin' and returnin'—”

“Yes, ughhhf,” Anoush groaned. “Dammit. Even your flaming insecurity is kind of endearing…”

“…Noush…how long have you felt like this….? Was it before, when we were hangin’ out with Louie at the Tonga Hut, or after you came to the dealership?…”

“Yeah, it was your hair-splitting managerial style that won me over,” he sighed, and shook his head. “…the Tonga.”

“But I always had that douchey Eddie Bauer vest on.”

“Mhm, douchey as hell, it looked like you were gonna go fishing without a license or something. I like bad boys, what can I say.”

Daniel smiled weakly.  "Surprised you didn’t show me your tat.”

“…I really didn’t want to feel any more connected to you than I already did, Daniel, or…more homesick for a place I’d never even been. You and your damned Okinawa stories…”

“I….I felt that chemistry too, you have to believe me. I was just too stupid to realize it.”

“And what were you gonna do about it, tell Amanda? Never, at any point, did I have any intention of wrecking your marriage. I just…all I ever wanted was a moment. And I got it. I can’t exactly be disappointed.”

“Noush…” Daniel bit the inside of his mouth. This was a hopeless situation, any way you sliced it, and every word was just dumping Ponzu sauce on an empty plate.

“You’re the only person who calls me that. You keep it up and I just might…well, never mind, I already did. I really should go. Just…don’t worry about it, OK? We can be adults about this. I’ll um…see you Monday. _Jigarami,”_ he said, pretending this was a parting phrase. Luckily, Daniel had no idea Anoush was affectionately calling him his liver.

The thought of a Monday morning and everything Anoush had to contemplate all through Sunday… how he’d handle it with self-deprecating grace. Daniel couldn’t bear it. “What if I let you just clock me in the face? A total freebie. I don’t care. I deserve it.”

“Aw, don't be so sweet. I'm on keto.”

“I'm serious. You're on the raw diet today.  Just lay it on me raw.”

That was bringing a whole other image to Anoush's mind, but anyway.  "Alright. If you insist." He backed up, bouncing in a goofy fighting stance. “Always wanted to do a roundhouse.”

“Yeah, I’d like to see you tr—“

He landed a beginner’s luck kick right on Daniel’s lower lip, sending him hurtling into his trophy table for the second time in a week. “Shit!?!” Anoush gasped.

Daniel had crashed to the floor in a tangle of memorabilia and Anoush flew to his side. “Oh my God, I thought that would be a complete fail! Daniel? Daniel, oh my God.” Daniel had blood running down his chin. Anoush grabbed a fallen workout hoodie from the floor held it to his mouth. “Please say something.” 

His eyes were dazed and half-lidded but sparkling. He swallowed blood and groaned deeply. “…god, that was hot.”

Anoush didn’t know whether to cringe or be smitten, but he knew he’d just bought himself more than a moment. He held Daniel, putting pressure on his broken lip, stroking his hair, trying to understand his dented heart.  Anoush heard Eddie Vedder singing “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” with those rough edges. Maybe soon, he'd only be hiding it at work.

 

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "accidental whump" ending was inspired by brihana25. 👍🏻 Daniel is still my liver, but he needed to get pounded. :)


End file.
